Sailor Moon American Senshi: the New Generation
by Eugol Dlareg
Summary: The next generation of my re-imagining of Sailor Moon set in Southern California. Rated T for violence, as well as mild language.
1. The new generation's call to arms

**SAILOR MOON AMERICAN SENSHI: THE NEW GENERATION**

by Eugol Dlareg

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any character names or concepts from the original manga or anime. Sailor Moon was originally created by Naoko Takeuchi, and all characters and concepts from the any previously produced versions are owned by someone in Japan, most likely either Ms. Takeuchi or Toei, except for Americanized names, which are owned by either DiC or Cloverway. This story is based on an alternate universe version of Sailor Moon I wrote between 2001 and 2005, and includes characters and concepts created by myself. In a nutshell: if it originated in the original manga and/or anime, it's owned by either Naoko Takeuchi and/or Toei(to the best of my knowledge). If it originated in the English dub, it's owned by either DiC and/or Cloverway. Everything created for this story, it was created by Eugol Dlareg. Dr Pepper is a registered trademark of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group. iPod is a registered trademark of Apple. NOTE: for purposes of this story (read: artistic license), the chapter "Blackmange" from my Gilded Rose saga (posted on in 2000) is an episode of the Sailor Moon anime, set during the Sailor Moon Super season. In the internal mythology of my version, the Sailor Moon anime exists, but as a show loosely based on the team's exploits. There was a Gilded Rose series, too(the episode "Blackmange" was a crossover episode).

CHAPTER 1-THE NEW GENERATION'S CALL TO ARMS

**WEDENSDAY, 21 JULY, 2010**

_Leffingwell Memorial Park, St. Gertrude City, California 12:00 p.m._

Jake Slater, Amy Forney, and Elizabeth Minako-Toste approached the grave of Jerry Mauser, Amy carrying a small paper shopping bag. "Hi," Elizabeth said, when she saw her friends. "Another year. Let's do this."

"After all these years," Amy said, placing the bag on Jerry's grave marker, and removing 3 bottles of Dublin Dr Pepper, "this place still kind of gives me the creeps. Both of you remember, I used to be buried here myself."

"At least people remember you coming back from the dead," Elizabeth said. "Remember, when Jake brought me back, it erased the memory of me being dead. Matthew doesn't even know that I died and came back."

"Enough talking about coming back from the dead," Jake said, as he used the bottle opener on his keychain to open the bottles, giving one to Amy, one to Elizabeth, and taking one for himself. "Heck, I wasn't even dead myself long enough to have a funeral. Speaking of which," he said, as the three of them raised their bottles. "To Jerry Mauser. The only one of us to die in battle and stay dead."

"To Jerry," Elizabeth and Amy said, as the three of them touched bottles, and drank. As they finished their sodas, they had a group hug, and went back to their cars.

As Jake started up his 2009 Mustang convertible, he didn't notice the black cat who jumped into the passenger seat through the open top. "You know, I always wondered why you, Amy, and Elizabeth do this every year," the cat said.

"Shit, Luna," Jake said. "You scared me there for a second."

"How did you know it was me?" Luna asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Jake said, "but I think it might have something to do with the fact that you and Artemis are the only talking cats I know. Anyways, Amy, Elizabeth, and I have this little thing we do every year at Jerry's grave on the anniversary of his death."

"Why just the three of you?" Luna asked. "Why not the whole team?"

"Well, it's like this," Jake explained. "Since Elizabeth, Amy, and I all died and came back, we do this every year to honor the only one of us that managed to stay dead. I know that might sound just a bit morbid, but it's just something we do."

"So what was in the bag Amy left on his grave?" Luna asked.

"A bottle of Dublin Dr Pepper and a meatball sub from Grascio's Deli," Jake said. "Same thing we leave on his grave every year. And before you ask, yes, there is something special about Dublin Dr Pepper. Unlike every other bottler, Dublin Texas makes Dr Pepper with Imperial cane sugar. But I have a feeling that you're not here just to ask about what we were just doing."

"Earth once again needs you," Luna said.

"There's a little problem with that," Jake said. "First off, I've kind of outgrown playing superhero. It might have been fun when I was in high school, but now I have a wife and daughter, as well as a career, to think about. This little ritual you saw is probably the only thing besides newspaper clippings I still have that links me to having been a hero in the first place. Second of all, even if I wanted to, I don't even have my powers anymore. Hodgkin's lymphoma took care of that. Radiation and chemotherapy got rid of the cancer, but at the cost of my powers."

"I'm not asking you to fight," Luna said. "We need you to help assemble and train the next generation of Sailor Soldiers for their upcoming battle."

"What next generation?" Jake asked. "Are you telling me that there's more Sailor Soldiers than the ones I fought alongside back as a teenager?"

"Yes," Luna said. "The Sailor Soldiers traditionally pass their powers on to their oldest daughters."

"How can that happen?" Jake asked. "All these years, I thought everyone besides Serena lost their powers in the battle where Jerry and Elizabeth got killed."

"Their oldest daughters were born with the Sailor Soldier powers."

"Why do you need me to help assemble and train the new team?" Jake asked.

"Because that is what you were destined to do," Luna said. "Back on the Moon Kingdom, Jacara trained the Sailor Soldiers. Here in this time, you also trained Rini as a Sailor Soldier."

"I don't really know what to say," Jake said. "Except that I'm in. I just need to have a little talk with Rae about it."

_Meanwhile, at Orangefaire Pointe Mall_

Amanda Slater was at Towne Center Nails, getting a pedicure, when her cell phone rang, to the theme to the _Gilded Rose_ cartoon. "Hi dad," Amanda said, answering the phone.

"Where are you right now?" Jake Slater asked her over the phone.

"Getting my nails done," Amanda said. "I just got a manicure, and right now, I'm in the middle of a pedicure. I should be done in about 45 minutes, and I'm going to need a ride home when I'm done."

"I'll be there in a bit," Jake said. "You hungry?"

"I was thinking about having lunch when I was done," Amanda said.

"Perfect," Jake said. "How about burgers?"

"Sounds good," Amanda said. "I'll see you when you get here. Love you, bye."

_An hour later, Joe's Burger Shack_

Jake and Amanda arrived at Joe's and walked in. "You want fries or rings?" Jake asked Amanda.

"Fries," Amanda said. "and a Dr Pepper."

"Three cheeseburgers," Jake said, to the person behind the counter, "two orders of fries, an order of onion rings, a large root beer with cherry, and two large Dr Peppers," the person gave Jake the total, Jake paid, and Jake and Amanda sat at a corner booth.

"There's only two of us," Amanda said.

"I told dad I'd meet the two of you here," Rae Slater said, sitting in the booth, next to Jake. "We have to talk to you."

"This isn't happening," Amanda said. "You two aren't getting a divorce, are you?"

"No," Jake said, "nothing like that. Something much bigger. And before you ask, let me assure you that my cancer didn't come back."

"Earth needs you," Rae said, taking her Sailor Mars transformation wand out of her purse. "This used to be mine," she said, handing it to Amanda. "And now, I'm giving it to you."

"What is it?" Amanda asked.

"It's my old transformation wand," Rae said. "From when I used to be Sailor Mars."

"You really were Sailor Mars?" Amanda asked. "You actually fought alongside Sailor Moon? Like in that cartoon I used to watch?"

"Sailor Moon was real," Jake said. "And not only was your mother one of her Sailor Soldiers, but I fought alongside them myself. I was Gilded Rose."

"Gilded Rose only fought alongside Sailor Moon once," Amanda said. "When they fought that Blackmange character. Gilded Rose had his own show."

"One of these days," Rae said, "your father and I are going to sit you down and go over the changes the producers of the cartoon made. But not now."

"We have more important things to talk about," Jake said. "Like how you're the new Sailor Mars, and how you're going to be fighting alongside the new Sailor Moon."

"I'm in," Amanda said. "So when do I get to meet the other Sailor Soldiers? Or are you going to tell me something like aunt Amy was Sailor Venus or something?"

"Actually," Jake said, "aunt Amy was Sailor Mercury. Speaking of her, I'm guessing she's having the same talk with Kim as we speak."

_Meanwhile, at the Forney home_

Kim Forney was in her bedroom, listening to the song _In the City _by the Cocktail Slippers, and playing along on an acoustic guitar, when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. "Come in," she said, turning off her iPod.

"We need to talk," Amy Forney said.

"What did I do this time?" Kim asked.

"Don't worry," Amy said. "You're not in trouble, and dad and I aren't splitting up. This is something much bigger."

"How big?" Kim asked.

"Big enough to threaten the entire Earth," Amy said.

"That's big," Kim said. "But what does this have to do with me?"

"You're needed to help fight this threat," Amy said.

"How can I help?" Kim asked.

"With this," Amy said, giving Kim her Sailor Mercury transformation wand. "This is my old transformation wand. When I was your age, I used to be Sailor Mercury."

"This is heavy," Kim said, "but I'm in. I'm not going to be fighting alone, am I?"

"No," Amy said, as her phone rang. "Hello," she said, answering it. "I'm talking with Kim right now, and she's in," a pause, "Amanda's in, too? Good. Have you talked to Liz or Serena yet?" Another pause. "Okay, call me later when you find out what's going on. Talk to you later, bye."

"Who was that?" Kim asked.

"Uncle Jake," Amy said. "I was just telling him that you've agreed to help fight this enemy, and he told me that Amanda's taking the mantle of Sailor Mars from aunt Rae."

"I don't believe this," Kim said. "You and aunt Rae fought alongside Sailor Moon. It wasn't just a cartoon, it was real."

"Don't forget uncle Jake," Amy said. "He used to be Gilded Rose."

"Gilded Rose fought alongside Sailor Moon?" Kim asked. "I thought that was a separate show."

"The people who produced that cartoon decided they could make more money by splitting Gilded Rose off into his own show," Amy said. "Remind me one of these days to explain everything to you."

"So," Kim said, "besides Amanda and myself, who's in?"

"Rini Darrien," Amy said.

"Tom and Serena's daughter?" Kim asked. "Who's she going to be?"

"She's the new Sailor Moon," Amy said. "And I'm pretty sure that Debbie Toste will be on board as the new Sailor Venus. I just hope that the four of you will be enough."

"Four of us?" Kim asked. "What about Sailor Jupiter or Tuxedo Mask? And Gilded Rose?"

"Well," Amy said, "We don't know if there is another Tuxedo Mask, and uncle Jake already has an idea on who will be the new Gilded Rose, if we even need Gilded Rose. As for Sailor Jupiter, it's a little more complicated than I really want to get into right now."

_The Darrien home_

"It's time," Serena Darrien said, handing her daughter Rini a heart-shaped brooch, with a crescent moon shaped crystal on it."

"To fulfill my destiny," Rini said, accepting the brooch.

_The Toste home_

Debbie Toste got out of the swimming pool, and wiped herself off with a towel. She took a sip from a sports bottle sitting on the patio table, as her mom came out back. "I need to ask you something," Elizabeth Minako-Toste said.

"Sure," Debbie said. "What do you want?"

"I want you to take this," Elizabeth said, handing Debbie her Sailor Venus transformation wand. "It's what I used back when I was your age to turn into Sailor Venus."

"No way," Debbie said. "You were Sailor Venus? For real?"

"For real," Elizabeth said. "Now you're needed to be Sailor Venus."

"Count me in," Debbie said.

_Back at Joe's_

Jake, Rae, and Amanda had just finished eating lunch, when Jake's phone rang. "Hello," he said as he answered it, and listened to what the person on the other line said. "That's great," he said. "I'll go have a talk with Lita. I'm not sure she'll come on board, though. Hopefully, if she doesn't, we can still do this with four. I'll see you tomorrow, bye."

"Who was that?" Rae asked.

"Serena," Jake said. "She just got off the phone with Elizabeth, and it turns out that both Rini and Debbie are on board. I need you to take Amanda home, I'm going to have a talk with Lita, see if I can convince her to do this. Hopefully, her issues with her mother won't keep her from helping us, but I'm not exactly holding my breath."

"I just hope she doesn't blame you for what happened to Susan," Rae said.

"I think she'd be more likely to blame herself," Jake said.

_The home of John and Francine Warner_

Lita Simmons lay on her bed, thinking about the last eighteen months she had been living with her foster parents. Mostly, she thought about the last time she saw her mother alive.

-FLASHBACK-

_Eighteen months earlier, the home of Wayne and Susan Simmons_

"Lita," Susan Makoto-Simmons said, while holding a diary in her hand, "Who is Todd Malarchuck?"

Lita didn't say anything, just lay on the couch and turned on the TV.

"I asked you a question," Susan said, turning off the TV. "Who is Todd Malarchuck?"

"I don't appreciate you reading my diary," Lita said, snatching the diary out of Susan's hand, and storming off towards the bathroom.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" Susan asked.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Lita said.

"I've noticed you've been spending a lot of time in the bathroom lately," Susan said. "I'm thinking maybe there's something wrong, like maybe you need to see a doctor."

"There's nothing wrong with me," Lita said. "Believe me, if I did need to see a doctor, I would let you or dad know."

"Then why have you been spending so much time in the bathroom lately?" Susan asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Lita said. "Since you removed my bedroom door, the bathroom is the only place in the house where I can get any fucking privacy!"

"Your father and I removed your bedroom door because we got tired of hearing it being slammed all the time," Susan said. "Besides, we don't want you to shut yourself off from the world. It's not healthy."

"I don't shut myself off from the world," Lita said. "In case you've forgotten, I'm fourteen years old. I don't need my mother hovering over me watching me like a goddamned hawk 24/7. I need some privacy every once in a while or else I'm going to go crazy."

"I don't like you keeping secrets from your father and I," Susan said.

"GO TO HELL!" Lita screamed, storming into the bathroom, and slamming the door shut, locking it behind her. "GO TO HELL AND DIE!"

_Three hours later_.

Lita only came out of the bathroom when she heard the doorbell ring. She answered the door to see a policeman standing there. "Miss Simmons," the officer said. "My name is Officer Grant of the Sunny Hills Police Department. There was an automobile accident about ninety minutes ago at the corner of Amerige Road and Malvern Drive, and I regret to inform you that your parents were among the deceased."

Lita stood there for an entire minute, not saying a word, until Officer Grant told her he needed her to go with him to identify the bodies. Susan didn't say a word, she just went with the officer to the morgue, where an attendant uncovered the bodies of Wayne and Susan Simmons, and asked Lita if they were indeed Wayne and Susan Simmons. When asked, Lita didn't say anything, she just nodded her head.

The next thing Lita remembered was when John Warner, Susan's cousin and best friend, came to pick her up. When she saw him it hit her that her parents were dead, and she wrapped her arms around him and began crying.

After about twenty minutes, Lita was composed enough to go home with John. When they arrived home, they were greeted by John's daughter Hannah, who was Lita's age. "Listen," Hannah said, putting her arm around Lita's shoulders, "If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here." Lita responded by patting Hannah's hand.

Lita had become emotionally numb after her parents' deaths. At the funeral, people noticed that she had merely "gone through the motions". John and his wife Francine had gone through the proper channels in order to become Lita's legal guardians, and had taken her to grief counseling at the suggestion of the police. Lita sat and listened to the counselors, not saying a word. She also attended group counseling, but still didn't say a word, just listened to others. In fact, Lita hadn't said a single word in three months.

_Three months after the deaths of Wayne and Susan Simmons, 7:45 a.m._

Lita's hunger overrode her instinct to sleep until noon. She went downstairs to make herself breakfast, and in the kitchen, noticed the polish on Hannah's fingernails. "That's a pretty color," Lita said.

"Thanks," Hannah said. "It's been so long since you've said anything, I was beginning to think that you forgot how to speak."

"I just got scared," Lita said. "I was afraid that if I said the wrong thing to someone, they'd die, like what happened to my mom."

"So what did you say to your mom?" Francine said, coming into the kitchen.

"I told her to go to hell and die," Lita said.

"You were mad at your mother," Francine said.

"Of course I was," Lita said. "She was reading my diary."

"How did you know she was reading it?" Francine asked.

"She had it in her hand," Lita said, "and she was asking me about a boy that I had wrote that I thought was cute."

"That was it?" Francine asked. "You didn't say anything else about him?"

"No," Lita said. "Believe me, my diary is mostly G-rated. There might be a few things in there that barely push the PG barrier, but everything's clean. It was just the whole principle of my mom reading it."

"You were upset that she violated your privacy," Francine said.

"When it comes to my mom," Lita said, "ever since I became a teenager, "my privacy"(Lita making quotation marks with her fingers for emphasis) has become an oxymoron. You know what she did when I was thirteen? She took away my bedroom door. I had to lock myself in the bathroom because it was the only room in the house where I could get any privacy."

"Didn't you ever ask her to give you a little space?" Hannah asked.

"At first I did," Lita said. "Until I realized that to my mom, "can you please give me a little space?" meant "watch Lita even closer.". She was driving me completely insane, and she refused to see it."

"Tell you what," Hannah said, "after breakfast, you want me to do your nails for you?"

"That would be nice," Lita said.

-END OF FLASHBACK-

_The Warner home, present day_

Lita heard the knock on her bedroom door. "Come in," she said.

"There's someone here to see you," John said, as he opened the door.

"Okay," Lita said. "Come in."

"I don't know if you remember me," Jake said. "I was a friend of your mother's."

"I think I remember you from the funeral," Lita said. "Jack?"

"Close," Jake said. "My name's actually Jake. I used to fight evil alongside your mother."

"My mom fought evil?" Lita asked.

"Yes," Jake said. "She was Sailor Jupiter. She and I fought alongside Sailor Moon. I used to be Gilded Rose"

"Sailor Moon," Lita said. "You mean that cartoon I had to watch in private because my mom wouldn't let me watch it? I don't remember Gilded Rose, though."

"That's because the producers thought Gilded Rose didn't go over well enough with young girls who were the show's target audience," Jake said. "That's why I ended up getting my own show. That, as well as the accountants crunching numbers and figuring that giving me a separate show would triple profits for everyone. But I'm not here to talk about a merchandising juggernaut that's going to be putting my daughter's grandkids through college."

"Why are you here?" Lita asked.

"To give you this," Jake said, taking Sailor Jupiter's transformation wand out of his jacket pocket. "It used to be your mother's. "Now, I give it to you. "There's a battle coming, and Earth will need you."

"I don't think I'm ready to help you right now," Lita said. "Maybe some other time."

"I can understand," Jake said, placing the transformation wand on Lita's dresser. "Whenever you're ready, just let John know, and he'll help you get in touch with me."

"Before you go," Lita said, "I have one thing to ask you."

"Why your mother's name on the show was Lita?" Jake said, "I don't know if you knew this, but your mother's first name wasn't Susan. Her first name was Lisa. When we were in negotiations, your mother wanted the producers to use her first name. Due to a typo, Lisa became Lita. We thought she'd be upset, or have them change it, but she actually liked it better. In fact, that's why she named you Lita in the first place."

"I never knew that," Lita said, as Jake left.

_Later that evening, the Slater house_

Rae was in the kitchen, doing dishes, when she saw Luna outside on the window sill. She opened the window to let her in. "Hi Luna," Rae said. "It's been a while since I've seen you."

"Too long, Rae," Luna said. "But I'm here to talk to Jake."

"I'm right here," Jake said, carrying a messenger bag containing a laptop computer, along with proper accessories. "You brought the intelligence I asked for?"

"Yes I have," Luna said.

"Come with me," Jake said, as he and Luna went to his den/home office. Jake set the bag down, and removed the computer and accessories, and set them up on the desk. Luna took a seat on the cabinet next to Jake's chair, as Jake booted up the computer. Jake removed an SD memory card from the collar around Luna's neck, and placed it in the proper slot in his computer, as soon as it booted up. The computer prompted Jake to open a file, and he opened it. When the file opened up, it showed a woman with knee length blonde hair and blue eyes, and she was wearing a strapless black leather dress, black elbow length gloves, and stiletto heeled thigh high black leather boots. She looked like a model, except for the fact that she had 2 heads on a slightly widened pair of shoulders. "Is this our enemy?" Jake asked.

"Yes," Luna said. "Her name is Nehelenia. She is the most vicious space pirate in the known universe, and by my intelligence gathering, I have learned that Earth is her next target. It will take the combined efforts of your entire team of Sailor Soldiers to defeat her and her forces. Have you assembled your team yet?"

"Sort of," Jake said. "I have a team of four already. Sailor Moon, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Mars."

"What about Sailor Jupiter?" Luna said. "I'm not sure four Soldiers will be enough to defeat an enemy as formidable as Nehelenia."

"I talked to Lita Simmons this afternoon," Jake said. "But I don't think she's ready yet. I think she still has some issues about her mom's death. If I tried to force her onto the team, I think it would have been worse if she hadn't even joined up in the first place. But I did leave her Jupiter's transformation wand, for when she is ready."

"I understand," Luna said. "You did all you could, and that's all I could ask of you. Besides, I have someone in mind to talk to her. . . "

Who is the person Luna has in mind to talk to Lita? Find out in our next chapter:

NEW GENERATION SAILOR SOLDIERS, ASSEMBLE!


	2. New Generation Sailor Soldiers, Assemble

**SAILOR MOON AMERICAN SENSHI: THE NEW GENERATION**

by Eugol Dlareg

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any character names or concepts from the original manga or anime. Sailor Moon was originally created by Naoko Takeuchi, and all characters and concepts from the any previously produced versions are owned by someone in Japan, most likely either Ms. Takeuchi or Toei, except for Americanized names, which are owned by either DiC or Cloverway. This story is based on an alternate universe version of Sailor Moon I wrote between 2001 and 2005, and includes characters and concepts created by myself. In a nutshell: if it originated in the original manga and/or anime, it's owned by either Naoko Takeuchi and/or Toei(to the best of my knowledge). If it originated in the English dub, it's owned by either DiC and/or Cloverway. Everything created for this story, it was created by Eugol Dlareg.

NOTE: for purposes of this story (read: artistic license), the chapter "Blackmange" from my Gilded Rose saga (posted on in 2000) is an episode of the Sailor Moon anime, set during the Sailor Moon Super season. In the internal mythology of my version, the Sailor Moon anime exists, but as a show loosely based on the team's exploits. There was a Gilded Rose series, too(the episode "Blackmange" was a crossover episode). IPod is a registered trademark of Apple. Google and Wikipedia are property of their respective owners.

_IN OUR PREVIOUS EPISODE:_ Jake Slater, formerly known as Gilded Rose, learns of a new threat to Earth, and assembles a new team of Sailor Soldiers.

CHAPTER 2-NEW GENERATION SAILOR SOLDIERS, ASSEMBLE!

**WEDENSDAY, 21 JULY, 2010**

_John and Francine Warner's house, Sunny Hills, California 9:30 p.m._

Lita Simmons was sitting at the desk in her bedroom, when she heard someone knocking on the door. "Come in," she said.

"What're you doing?" Hannah Warner, Lita's foster sister, asked.

"Writing a letter," Lita said.

"To who?" Hannah asked.

"My mom," Lita said. "When that friend of my mom's came over to see me earlier, it got me thinking. I decided to write her a letter, saying all the things I wish I got to tell her. I was going to ask Francine to drive me to the cemetery tomorrow and leave it on my mom's grave. I know it won't bring her back, but at least it might give me some closure."

_Jake and Rae Slater's house_

As Jake and Luna finished their briefing, Jake turned his computer off, and put it as well as his accessories, back into his computer case. "I'd love for you to stay and chat," Jake said, "but I need to get to bed soon, and it looks like you have some business to take care of tonight. I'll see you tomorrow morning, around ten."

"Artemis and I will be here," Luna said, as Jake let her out. "When he found out about Nehelenia, he insisted on being a part of the fight."

"The more the merrier," Jake said, as he closed and locked the door, went upstairs to his and Rae's bedroom, where Rae had just finished a shower, and was in the bathroom, wearing only a towel wrapped around her body. "I'm just going to take a quick shower and go to bed," Jake said.

"Big day ahead of us tomorrow," Rae said, as she kissed Jake, dropped the towel, and got into bed. Jake took a quick shower, dried off, and got into bed next to Rae.

_Later that evening, Lita Simmons' bedroom_

Lita had just fallen asleep, when she was awoken by a faint noise in her bedroom. She opened her eyes, and saw the last person she ever expected to see. Her mother, Susan. Susan was standing by Lita's dresser, and holding the letter Lita wrote earlier in the evening. "Mom," Lita said, "is that really you?"

"Yes it's me," Susan said. "I'm sorry, but I can only stay for a little bit, being dead and all."

"I hoped you being dead was just a nightmare," Lita said. "But I guess it's not."

"You won't get upset if I read this?" Susan asked, holding up Lita's letter.

"Go ahead," Lita said. "It is addressed to you."

"_Dear Mom_," Susan began reading, "_I'm truly sorry for what I said to you the last time I spoke to you. I didn't mean it. When I said it, I was angry at you for reading my diary. In fact, I felt violated. I've been feeling that way for about a year before you and dad were killed, like I was living in a fishbowl. My diary, my thoughts, were the only shred of privacy I had, and you took that from me. I just wanted a little space, before I went completely crazy. Once again, I'm truly sorry for what I said to you the last time I spoke to you. I love you. Lita."_

It was all Lita could do to keep from crying as Susan read the letter. "All this time I blamed myself," Lita said. "Not a day has gone by where I didn't think that if I hadn't said what I said, you and dad would still be alive."

"You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened," Susan said. "You didn't pour enough liquor down that idiot's throat to give him a blood alcohol level almost three times the legal limit, and you didn't make him run that red light and hit my car at 45 mph."

"I never really thought about it that way," Lita said. "But that still doesn't make me wish I had known that our last argument would have been the last time I saw you alive. If I had known that, I wouldn't have gotten so angry at you."

"First of all," Susan said, "you can't undo the past. You said what you said, and no matter how sorry you were, that doesn't change the fact you said it. Second, there was no way for you to know your father and I were going to be killed. We didn't even know about it until it happened. That's the thing about death." She noticed the transformation wand on the dresser, and picked it up. "I see Jake Slater gave this to you," she said.

"How did you know?" Lita asked. "He told me that he needed me to help him battle to save Earth, and I told him I wasn't ready. He left that here, and told me to keep it until I was ready."

"Jake Slater never changes," Susan said. "Even though he's unable to fight, whenever Earth is in danger, he has to get involved."

"He seemed nice enough," Lita said. "When I talked to him earlier, I didn't think I was ready to fill your shoes as Sailor Jupiter."

"Let me tell you one thing about Jake Slater," Susan said. "He would not have asked you to take on this responsibility if he didn't think you could handle it. And he knew I wouldn't have let him ask you if he knew I didn't think you could handle it."

"Do you think I could cut it as Sailor Jupiter?" Lita asked.

"No, I don't think you can cut it as Sailor Jupiter," Susan said, handing the wand to Lita, "I know you can cut it."

"I guess this means I'm the new Sailor Jupiter," Lita said, taking the wand. "Oh, one more thing," she added, "Todd Malarchuck, I'm so over him."

"The boy I asked you about when you got mad at me for reading your diary?" Susan asked.

"Yeah, him," Lita said. "I wanted him to be my boyfriend until I learned something about him."

"What's that?" Susan asked.

"He already has a boyfriend," Lita said. "Anyways, I'd love to spend a few days catching up, but I need to get some sleep if I'm going to talk to Jake tomorrow."

"I wish I could stay myself," Susan said, "but I have to go."

"I'm glad we had this time to talk," Lita said, as Susan kissed her on the forehead. "Bye mom."

"I love you," Susan said. "Goodbye"

"I love you, mom," Lita said, as she began to softly cry herself to sleep."

_The next morning_

At first, Lita thought she dreamt the previous night's talk with her mother, until she saw that she was holding Sailor Jupiter's transformation wand. She got out of bed, took a quick shower, got dressed, and went downstairs for breakfast. She fixed herself some microwave pancakes, and when she was eating, John Warner, her foster father, came downstairs and poured himself a glass of orange juice. "Got any plans today?" he asked.

"Maybe," Lita said. "I need to talk to Jake, that friend of my mom's that was here yesterday."

John got a pen and a piece of paper, and wrote down a number, which he gave to Lita. "Call this number," John said. "That's Jake's cell phone, he always has it with him."

"Thanks," Lita said, taking the number, and finishing her breakfast. After breakfast, she went to her bedroom to get her cell phone, and called Jake.

_Jake and Rae's house_

Jake had just poured himself a cup of coffee when his cell phone rang. "Hello," he said.

"Hi Jake," Lita said over the phone. "It's me, Lita. I'm in."

"Great," Jake said. "I'll be by to pick you up in about ninety minutes."

_Back at the Warner house_

Hannah was sitting on her bed, painting her toenails, when Lita knocked on the door. "I need to talk to you," Lita said.

"What's up?" Hannah asked.

"You know that friend of my mom's who came over to talk to me yesterday?" Lita asked.

"Jake Slater," Hannah said. "I've met him a few times, he plays golf with my dad sometimes."

"Well," Lita said, "he's coming to pick me up in about an hour and a half. He asked me to carry on my mom's legacy as a superhero. I think I can handle it, but I'm a little scared."

"Let me tell you one thing," Hannah said. "I don't think Jake would have picked you for this if he didn't think you could handle it. You're going to do fine."

_Back at the Slater home_

Serena and Rini Darrien had arrived, and Rini went to the basement, where she was met by Amanda Slater. "Here you go," Amanda said, tossing a can of soda to Rini. "Everyone else should be here shortly."

Thanks," Rini said, catching the can of soda. "You have any idea what we're going to be going up against?"

"Not really," Amanda said. "My dad didn't tell me anything, just that Earth needed me."

Meanwhile, upstairs, Serena poured herself a cup of coffee, and sat at the kitchen counter next to Rae. "This seems weird," Serena said.

"What seems weird?" Rae asked.

"The Sailor Soldiers are about to go into action," Serena said, "and you and I are sitting on the sidelines, drinking coffee, and talking about what's going on in our lives."

"What have you been up to lately?" Rae asked.

"You mean besides my book deal?" Serena said. "Sometimes it amazes me how people still care about us, after all these years."

"If you ask me," Rae said, "you can thank whoever first came up with the idea for the cartoon. As big as it's been, they still changed a lot of stuff to make it more marketable. But still, I know a lot of people would love to read the real story of Sailor Moon, especially from Sailor Moon herself. Especially if there's a lot of juicy stuff in there."

"Oh there is," Serena said. "In fact, I'm going to give you a little preview. Actually, it's something I wanted to tell you before the book came out, seeing as it has to do with Jake."

"What about Jake?" Rae asked.

"He's who I lost my virginity to," Serena said.

"He told me about it," Rae said, "but didn't really go into detail. I remember, a couple months before you, Jake, and I first became superheroes, he'd told me that he'd gone to a party and gotten laid, but didn't go into detail."

"Well," Serena said, "Jake and I were at a party, and everybody decided to play Seven Minutes in Heaven. Actually, we were playing Eleven Minutes in Heaven, but that's just a small detail. Anyways, I picked Jake, and we went into the closet for eleven minutes. To make a long story short, we started making out, and ended up having sex."

A couple minutes later, Amy Forney arrived, and poured herself a cup of hot water for tea. "So," she said, "what did I miss here?"

"I was just telling Rae about something juicy I'm putting in my book," Serena said.

"Like what," Amy said, "the time you and Jake had sex?"

"How did you know?" Serena said, with genuine surprise in her voice.

"I didn't," Amy said. "I was guessing. But it would make sense, though. The first time we made love, I kind of got the feeling that he'd done it before."

"When did this happen?" Serena asked.

"Right after we fought Draevyn," Amy said. "We were at my house, resting up after the battle, and my mom had to pull an all-nighter shift at the hospital. A few minutes after my mom left, I started to have what I thought was a panic attack. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but for some reason, I didn't want Jake to leave me, so he spent the night with me. To make a long story short, we let our hormones take over. Needless to say, my mom wasn't exactly thrilled when she saw him and I in bed together."

"I bet she was angry," Serena said.

"Not really," Amy said. "In fact, the only thing she asked is if we used protection. Not long after Jake and I started dating, my mom gave me some condoms. She told me that she wasn't flat out giving me permission to have sex, but if it were to happen, she at least wanted me to protect myself."

"Obviously she didn't kill Jake when she caught you two," Rae said.

"No," Amy said. "In fact, she agreed to basically forget what she'd seen, as long as we used protection, and promised not to blab it to everyone. She wanted to make sure he really loved me, and wasn't just using me to get his rocks off or something. Remember, from about when we fought Draevyn to when I got killed, we were practically inseparable. It was almost like we were joined at the hip or something."

"No wonder he took your death so hard," Serena said. "I don't think it was until after he defeated the Darkness until it really hit him what happened. After that, I think he completely skipped denial, and went straight to anger."

"You think we could please not go there?" Rae asked. "Some things were said, and I know that they weren't really meant the way they were said, but it still hurts."

"Anyways," Amy said, tactfully changing the subject, "While Jake's briefing the girls, what do you say we have a girl's day? We can go have lunch and get our nails done, maybe go catch a chick flick or something."

"Sounds perfect," Elizabeth Minako-Toste said, going to the refrigerator, and pouring herself a glass of white zinfandel. "I need to get a pedicure anyways. So, what did I miss? Anything juicy?"

"We were just talking about something that the three of us have done," Rae said.

"More precisely," Amy added, "who."

"Let me guess," Elizabeth said, "you all had sex with Jake."

"How'd you guess?" Serena asked.

"Because I'm a member of that particular sorority myself," Elizabeth said.

"When did you sleep with Jake?" Serena asked.

"In college," Elizabeth said.

"Jake and I broke up during freshman year," Rae said. "Things happened, and we decided that our friendship was more important at the time than romance. We stayed friends, but dated other people during freshman and sophomore years, and got back together just after the beginning of junior year."

Almost as if on cue, Jake came in, and went to the refrigerator for a soda. "You ladies talking about me?" he asked.

"As a matter of fact, we were," Elizabeth said.

"Elizabeth was about to tell the story about the time I walked in on the two of you," Amy said.

"So what happened?" Serena said.

"Well," Amy said, "while Jake and Rae weren't seeing each other, Jake came home during a school holiday. Elizabeth came over, and she and Jake went to a movie. The next morning, I forgot he was home and staying in his old bedroom. I'd went in there to get some clean sheets, and they were in bed together."

"I'd love to stay and chat," Jake said, "but I have to get downstairs. There's a two-headed space pirate making her way to Earth, and I have five teenage girls I have to train to fight her."

"I remember when it actually would have fazed me hearing someone saying that," Amy said. "But pretty much since I met Jake, I've seen enough that pretty much nothing fazes me anymore."

_In the basement_

Kim Forney was listening to her iPod, when Lita sat down next to her. "What're you listening to?" Lita asked.

"Stuff I got on my computer," Kim said. "Cocktail Slippers, Pipettes, Joan Jett, the Soundtrack of our Lives, Ko and the Knockouts, and a bunch of other bands you've probably never heard of."

"I take it you don't like Justin Bieber," Lita said.

Kim opened her mouth, stuck out her tongue, stuck her index fingertip in her mouth, and made a gagging noise. "That's pretty much what I think of Justin Bieber. Personally, I think the guy has talent, but he's nothing more than a manufactured, disposable pop star."

"So what do you normally listen to?" Lita asked.

"Usually my iPod, or Underground Garage," Kim said.

"What station is that?" Lita asked.

"It's a channel on satellite radio," Kim said. "They play a lot of unknown bands, stuff you won't find on Top 40 radio. No Bieber, no Lady GaGa. I like finding new stuff on there, and playing along with my guitar."

"Can I have your attention please," Jake said, as he activated a touch screen computer, and the girls took their seats. "This." he said, touching the screen, and making a motion with his hand, which caused an image of a two headed blonde woman to be projected onto the wall, "is your enemy. Nehelenia. The most ruthless, the most vicious space pirate in the galaxy. Don't let her youthful appearance fool you, she's over 100,000 years old. She's also one of the deadliest fighters in the galaxy, having mastered fighting techniques from over a thousand worlds."

"Excuse me," Lita said, "but how exactly are we going to fight her?"

"You all have your transformation wands with you, I hope?" Jake asked, and the girls all raised theirs, except for Rini, who held up her locket. "Good. Rini, you already know how to transform, but for the rest of you, I'd like to have Amanda demonstrate it for you. Amanda, would you please come up here, and say 'Pretty Mars Soldier, Make-up'?"

Amanda got up, and raised her transformation wand. "Pretty Mars Soldier, Make-up!" Amanda said, and found herself clad in Rae's old Sailor Mars costume, with the exception that the red pumps Rae wore as Sailor Mars were replaced with purple tights and red thigh high boots.

"For the rest of you," Jake said, "to transform, hold your transformation wands up, and say what Amanda just said, just substitute the name of your respective planet."

"Pretty Mercury Soldier, Make-up!" Kim said, and was transformed into Sailor Mercury, wearing Amy's old costume, with the addition of white tights.

"Pretty Venus Soldier, Make-up!" Debbie Toste said, and was transformed into Sailor Venus, wearing Elizabeth's old costume, with the addition of blue tights, and the orange ankle strap pumps replaced with orange ballet slippers, and the red bow her mom wore in costume was now orange.

"Pretty Jupiter Soldier, Make-up!" Lita said, and was transformed into Sailor Jupiter, wearing Susan's old costume, with the addition of green tights, and the green ankle boots replaced with white knee high boots.

Rini opened her brooch, and touched the crystal inside. "Pretty Moon Soldier, Make-up!" she said, and was transformed into Sailor Moon, wearing a costume similar to the one her mom wore, except that the collar, bows, trim, and boots were now pink, and her blonde hair was now pink.

"Now that you're all transformed," Jake said, "we can complete this briefing. First off, one thing you should know about Nehelenia is that unlike the enemies I fought alongside your mothers, she doesn't depend on her minions, she likes to become directly involved in battles. Like I said before, she's mastered fighting techniques from over a thousand worlds, so she's a formidable fighter, and she doesn't tolerate weakness from her opponents. If you complain about breaking a nail, she'll rip your arm off at the socket and beat you with it. However, she is mortal, just one who ages at a very slow rate. As Sailor Soldiers, you will have various powers, as well as weapons, to help you fight. My job is to train you to use every tool at your disposal, to hone your powers and abilities to a razor's edge," he said, as everything in the basement disappeared, and the basement began to expand, and the floor sunk, and the girls found themselves in one corner of the room, with Jake standing in the opposite corner. "For our first exercise," Jake said, holding Kim's iPod, "Sailor Mercury, come over here and get your iPod."

"You mean," Sailor Mercury said, "all I have to do is walk across this room? This empty room? That's easy."

"Just come over here and get your iPod," Jake said, "and see just how easy it is."

Sailor Mercury was only able to take a few steps before a baseball-sized sphere flew out of nowhere, which she was just barely able to duck. "That was close," she said, as she got up, and took another few steps, before a heavy bag swung from the ceiling towards her. This time, she delivered a kick that sent the bag back where it came from. When she reached the middle of the room, she discovered that she was standing on a trapdoor, and leapt in the air when she felt it start to open. She did a flip in midair, and landed halfway between the middle of the room and where Jake was standing. As she landed, she saw a humanoid robot coming out of the hole. "Mercury ice spear!" she yelled, and spears of ice came seemingly out of nowhere, bombarding the robot, incapacitating it. She then ran to where Jake was, and took her iPod.

"That's the end of our first lesson," Jake said. "Remember, whenever a situation seems too easy, it's probably a trap, so be on guard at all times. Sailor Mercury, you can go back to where everyone else is. Just leave your iPod here, I'll take care of it for you. And don't worry, there won't be any traps or anything. I need you to be with your teammates for this next lesson."

"What's this lesson about?" Sailor Venus asked.

"I'm glad you asked that," Jake said. "This lesson is about teamwork. About learning to communicate in battle, to watch each other's backs. I want the five of you to come over here together. Keep your eyes and ears open, not just for threats to yourself, but to threats to your teammates. If you see something, warn each other, and even assist each other if possible."

The girls took a few steps towards Jake, when Sailor Mars noticed a heavy bag swinging towards Sailor Jupiter. "Jupiter, look out!" she said.

"Sparkling Wide Pressure!" Sailor Jupiter yelled, and threw a ball of lightning at the bag, which exploded on impact, sending sand everywhere.

"Mercury Ice Shield!" Sailor Mercury said, waving her hand, and forming a shield of ice which protected the team from the flying sand.

A small cannon began shooting baseball sized projectiles at the girls from the corner of the ceiling above where Jake was, pinning them down. "Let me take this one," Sailor Mars said. "Mars Flame Sniper!" she yelled, and a bow and arrow made of flame appeared in her hand. She shot the arrow at the cannon, but a shot from the cannon deflected the arrow. Sailor Mars shot several more arrows, each were deflected by the cannon. "We can't hit it straight on," she said, "so I guess I'll try to attack it from the side. She ran to the side, trying to get a shot at the side of the cannon, but the cannon remained trained on her, shooting projectiles at her, until she realized the futility of that tactic, and retreated to where the other Sailor Soldiers were.

"Get ready to take another shot," Sailor Venus said. "I'm going to try to draw its fire. While it's aiming at me, you might be able to attack it from the side."

"It might just work," Sailor Mars said. "Go for it on three. . . One, two, three!"

"Venus Sonic Boomerang!" Sailor Venus said, tossing energy-based v shaped boomerangs at the cannon, which followed her, leaving the side open for Sailor Mars.

"Mars Flame Sniper," Sailor Mars said, as the side of the cannon was exposed to her, and shot an arrow in record time. Upon impact, the cannon was indeed incapacitated, allowing Sailor Mars and the other Sailor Soldiers to catch up with Sailor Venus.

As the girls were just about to reach where Jake was, they were attacked from seemingly out of nowhere. Their attacker was dressed in a black tunic with gold trim, black gloves, black tights, black _tabi _style boots with gold cuffs, black hooded cloak, and black full head mask. Aside from the fact that their attacker was obviously male, his costume completely concealed his identity. He was also carrying a 6' long staff made of a graphite composite material. "I'll take him head on," Sailor Moon said, calling for her scepter, and causing it to grow to the same length as the figure's staff. "Everyone else try to outflank him."

"Venus Love-Me Chain!" Sailor Venus said, tossing a chain made of energy based heart shaped links at the figure, who grabbed the chain, and with it, Sailor Venus. Before she knew what had happened, the figure had wrapped her chain around her, taking her out of the fight.

Sailor Moon used the fact that he had been busy defending himself against Sailor Venus to her advantage. She took a swing at him with her scepter, which he barely blocked with his staff. She engaged the figure in combat, using her extended scepter as a quarterstaff. They fought for several minutes, until the figure managed to disarm Sailor Moon, and used a legsweep to take her off her feet. He swung his staff downward, and Sailor Moon rolled out of the way.

"Mars Fire Saber!" Sailor Mars said, holding her transformation wand. The wand extended to a foot in length, and the same diameter as the figure's staff. As it grew, it emitted a meter long blade of flame. She used the saber to block another strike against Sailor Moon. The figure removed his cloak, and twirled the staff around in midair, and it shrunk to 2' in length. He held it in front of him, and gold colored energy blades, 2 ½' in length, were emitted from either end. He engaged Sailor Mars in combat.

Sailor Mercury saw that with Sailor Mars' opponent using a double bladed sword, she was at a disadvantage, so she decided to join in the fray. "Mercury Ice Katana!" she said, holding out her transformation wand, and it transformed into the traditional hilt of a Japanese katana, with a blade which, while made of ice, was harder than diamond, and stronger than steel. She proceeded to join in the battle. While Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury had an advantage of being two against one, the masked figure had an advantage of speed, agility, and what seemed like experience. Mars and Mercury kept the battle close, to keep the advantage on their side, not allowing him to use his speed or agility. After several minutes, he managed to disarm Sailor Mars, and engaged in one-on-one combat with Sailor Mercury. One-on-one, the masked figure held the advantage, quickly disarming Sailor Mercury, transforming his double edged energy sword back into a staff.

"Jupiter Kick!" Sailor Jupiter yelled, running at the figure, launching herself into a flying kick, which he was able to duck. While he was distracted, Sailor Moon recovered, and attacked him once again with her scepter, which was still the length of his staff. After a couple minutes, she managed to disarm him, and after a legsweep, he was on his back.

Sailor Moon stood over her foe, with her foot on his chest. She held her scepter/staff to his throat, and extended a small blade, the tip of which barely grazed his Adam's apple. "Do you yield?" she asked the figure.

The masked man said nothing, he just chuckled, even as Sailor Moon repeated her question. "Sailor Moon," Jake said, "stand down. That goes for all of you. Stand down and transform back to your civilian identities."

"How do we do that?" Sailor Mars asked.

"Hold up your transformation wand and call out your real name," Jake said.

"Kimberly Forney," Sailor Mercury said, transforming back to Kim.

"Amanda Slater," Sailor Mars said, transforming back to Amanda.

"Deborah Toste," Sailor Venus said, transforming back to Debbie.

"Lita Simmons," Lita said, transforming back to Lita.

"Irene Darrien," Sailor Moon said, touching the crystal in her brooch, and transforming back to Rini.

Jake helped the masked figure to his feet. "Thanks bro," he said.

"Your welcome," Jake said to the figure. "Now, when I said to change back to your civilian identities, I meant you, too."

"Sure thing. Transform!" the figure said, materializing a gold covered rose, and throwing it at his feet. He was enveloped in a puff of gold smoke, and when it dissipated, he was transformed into what looked like a younger version of Jake. "I think they're ready," he said, as the room transformed back to its original dimensions.

It took a second, but Kim recognized the figure. "Uncle Dennis?" she asked. "Is that you?"

"So now you know my secret," Jake said, patting Dennis on the shoulder. "I've been training Dennis for the last year to take over the legacy of Gilded Rose. He's been kind enough to help me train you today. The good news is, this is the first and last time you'll be fighting against him. The bad news is, by my estimation, Nehelenia should arrive on Earth in about two weeks. Every day until she arrives, the six of you will be training. The training will be rough, but that's because you have a lot to learn, and not a lot of time to learn it. We'll meet here every morning at exactly 10:00 sharp. If anyone needs a ride, either my wife or I can pick you up. You will show up, no excuses. When each of you agreed to join the team, you made a commitment. I expect each and every one of you to honor that commitment.

_Meanwhile, in deep space_

G'riq was nervous. He knew that Nehelenia would probably have his head on a pike for interrupting her in her bath, but she had given him a direct order, and he had to obey. He approached the door to her private bathing chamber, and when it opened, entered. "Who dares interrupt me in my private bathing chamber?" both heads said in unison.

"I do, my Captain," G'riq said.

"And who may I ask are you," the head on her left said, "so that I may know whose death warrant to sign?" the head on her right added.

"Ensign G'riq, my Captain," G'riq said.

"Before I kill you where you stand," her left head said, "tell me why you interrupted my bath," her right head added.

"To inform you that we are exactly fourteen planetary rotations from the third planet out from the star in the Sol System, my Captain," G'riq said. "Just as you ordered me to. Your exact words were, and I quote, 'Ensign G'riq, you are to inform me immediately when we are exactly fourteen planetary rotations from the third planet from the star in the Sol System, no matter what I am doing at the time, and that is a direct order.' end quote."

Nehelenia remembered giving G'riq that exact order. "It seems that your life has just been spared," her left head said. "seeing as if you were merely following a direct order."

"With your permission, my Captain," G'riq added, "I also have additional data on our arrival."

"Go on," both heads said in unison."

"According to calculations based on our velocity and trajectory, as well as the rotation and orbit of the planet," G'riq said, "the point of arrival has been determined to be the landmass known to the planet's population as North America. More precisely, a settlement in the southwest portion of the landmass. Intelligence reports that the particular settlement is known to the locals as Sunny Hills."

"Is that all?" both heads asked in unison.

"One other thing, my Captain," G'riq said. "Intelligence reports that in the settlement known as Sunny Hills, there are those that are aware of your imminent arrival, and when you will arrive, and have assembled a team charged with defending against you and your forces. The team consists of five adolescent females, and one adolescent male, each of which possess what is known on the planet as superhuman abilities. The person who assembled and is currently training the team is the father of one of the adolescent females, as well as the older brother of the adolescent male. Intelligence also reports that the person who assembled and is training the team also once possessed superhuman abilities, but lost them approximately twelve solar orbits ago, due to exposure to radiation and chemotherapeutic drugs used to treat a malignant neoplasm of the lymphocytes known on the planet as Hodgkin's lymphoma. He also spent three solar orbits in a military organization known on the planet as the United States Marine Corps. That is all the information I have for you at this time."

"They know I'm coming," her left head said. "A valuable piece of information," her right head added.

"I'll leave you to your bath, my Captain," G'riq said, "with your permission."

"You have done well," her left head said, "and you shall be rewarded," her right head added. "Join me," both heads said in unison.

G'riq had been with Nehelenia's crew long enough to know that when she invited someone to join her in her private bath, it meant she was also inviting him to join her in her bed, where he would experience pleasure beyond his wildest imagination. He removed his uniform, and got into the bath, while a robot removed his uniform to be laundered, pressed, folded, and waiting for him after his night of pleasure.

_Back on Earth, Towne Center Nails_

"I wonder if Jake sprung his big surprise on the girls yet," Amy said, as her nail technician was giving her a French manicure.

Elizabeth Toste took a sip of white zinfandel as her technician applied red polish to her toenails. "What surprise is that?" she asked.

"Uncle Dennis," Kim said, sitting next to Elizabeth. "He's part of the team now. Uncle Jake passed the Gilded Rose mantle to him. I think I'd like to get a French pedicure today."

_Jake and Rae's house_

"I have a question for you," Amanda asked, as Jake opened a can of beer. "How come you gave uncle Dennis your Gilded Rose powers and not me?"

"Because he asked," Jake said. "Granddad and Grandma Pam told him a long time ago about us. He asked me last year if I would pass my powers on to him."

"I was talking to the girls today," Amanda said, "and nobody knew that mom, aunt Amy, Elizabeth, and Lita's mom were the original Sailor Soldiers, or that you were Gilded Rose until yesterday. How come you never told us?"

"It's like this," Jake said, "our dual identities became public knowledge a few months after we became superheroes. The fact that I was Gilded Rose when I was your age is out there, all you need to do to find it is to Google me or look me up on Wikipedia, it's right there between the fact that I spent three years in the Marines after college and the fact that I beat cancer. We just plain assumed that you already knew. That's why we never told you."

The battle begins in our next chapter:

THE ARRIVAL OF NEHELENIA


	3. The Arrival of Nehelenia

**SAILOR MOON AMERICAN SENSHI: THE NEW GENERATION**

by Eugol Dlareg

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any character names or concepts from the original manga or anime. Sailor Moon was originally created by Naoko Takeuchi, and all characters and concepts from the any previously produced versions are owned by someone in Japan, most likely either Ms. Takeuchi or Toei, except for Americanized names, which are owned by either DiC or Cloverway. This story is based on an alternate universe version of Sailor Moon I wrote between 2001 and 2005, and includes characters and concepts created by myself. In a nutshell: if it originated in the original manga and/or anime, it's owned by either Naoko Takeuchi and/or Toei(to the best of my knowledge). If it originated in the English dub, it's owned by either DiC and/or Cloverway. Everything created for this story, it was created by Eugol Dlareg. For simplicity's sake, please note that the character of Nehelenia has two heads, and all dialogue spoken by her, unless specified as being spoken by only one head, is spoken by both heads : iPod is a registered trademark of Apple. All NHL team references are property of NHL. Star Trek is property of Paramount Pictures.

_In our previous episode: _The team comes together for their first training session, and meets the new Gilded Rose.

CHAPTER 3-THE ARRIVAL OF NEHELENIA

**TUESDAY, 3 AUGUST, 2010**

_Hillcrest Park, Sunny Hills, California 3:45 p.m._

Lita Simmons grabbed a bottle of water from the table, took a long drink, and sat down on the bench next to Amanda Slater. "Oh man," Lita said, "I don't think I've ever been pushed so hard in my life as I've been in the last couple weeks. The way your dad's been pushing us, you'd think he's a Marine or something."

"He is a Marine," Amanda said. "He joined right after college and spent three years in the Corps."

"So do you have any plans for when this is over?" Lita asked.

"I'm gonna take a nice hot bath that lasts three days," Kim Forney said, sitting down next to Lita.

"Me too," Amanda said, "followed by staying in bed for a week."

"I think I'm just gonna veg in front of the TV for a few days," Lita said.

"Can I have your attention please," Jake Slater said.

"I wonder what's up now," Lita said, as she, Amanda, Kim, as well as Rini Darrien, Debbie Toste, and Dennis Slater gathered around where Jake was.

"I just want to say," Jake said, "that the six of you have come a long way in what little time you've been training together. A lot farther, in fact, than I hoped you would. Therefore, I'm giving the six of you a well-deserved day off. Just remember, Nehelenia will be here the day after tomorrow, so we need all of you to be ready."

"Hey Lita," Amanda said, "why don't you spend the rest of today and tomorrow with Kim and I?"

"That sounds fun," Lita said.

_Jake and Rae's house, later that evening_

Amanda, Kim, and Lita were in the living room, listening to the music on Kim's iPod, which she had in her boom box, while Jake, his wife Rae, and Chris and Amy Forney were in the kitchen, talking. Kim put on _All or Nothing_ by Jen Williams, and played along on her acoustic guitar. "How long have you been playing guitar?" Lita asked when the song ended.

"Since I was six," Kim said. "I've always been into music."

"We've been trying to put a group together for a few months," Amanda said.

"What kind of group?" Lita asked.

"Kind of like the Pipettes," Kim said. "A modern group, but with the 60's girl group sound."

"Only problem is finding a third member," Amanda said.

"All the best girl groups were trios," Kim said. "The Supremes, Shangri-La's, Ronettes, all the greats from the 60's."

"You think maybe I could be your third member?" Lita asked.

"Sure," Kim said. "Maybe we can teach you some routines. You want to see one?"

"How do you do them when there's only two of you?" Lita asked.

"Either my mom or aunt Amy joins us," Amanda said. "Usually aunt Amy."

"I'll get her," Kim said, going to the kitchen. "Mom, we need you to help show Lita one of our dance routines."

"What song do we want to do?" Amanda asked, as Kim and Amy came back.

"I thought we'd do _Pull Shapes_," Kim said. "Mom, why don't you be RiotBecki, Amanda, you be Gwenno, and I'll be Rosay."

"Give me a second here," Amy said, putting on her glasses, as Kim found the song on her iPod. "Lita, can you push play when we're ready?"

"Sure," Lita said, as Amanda, Amy, and Kim got into position.

"Okay," Amanda said, "we're ready."

As Lita pressed play on Kim's iPod, Kim, Amanda, and Amy did a choreographed routine to the song. "That looks like something I can do," Lita said, when the song was over.

"It's all pretty basic," Amanda said, as Amy went back to the kitchen.

"For each song, you only need to know a few simple moves," Kim said. "Tomorrow, we'll teach you, and break them down for you."

"It's going to be nice to be doing something other than Sailor Soldier training," Lita said.

"I hear you," Amanda said.

"But you have to admit it did us a lot of good," Kim said. "We really learned a lot."

"Well, we did learn how to operate effectively as a team," Lita said.

_Jake and Rae's bedroom, 2:00 a.m._

Jake woke bolt upright from a recurring dream he'd been having recently. His sudden awakening did not go unnoticed by his wife Rae. "Is there anything wrong?" Rae asked.

"It's my twin brother," Jake said. "He's out there somewhere."

"He died when he was less than an hour old," Rae said.

"He's alive," Jake said. "I can feel it. It's that little voice in the back of my head, telling me that he's still alive."

"If you're so sure that he's alive, why haven't you ever tried to find him?" Rae asked.

"The voice in my head tells me not to," Jake said. "The voice tells me that he's alive, but he'll find me."

"I hope he does find you someday," Rae said, "if he is still alive. Now go back to sleep."

_The next morning, Kim's bedroom_

Lita started to panic, until she remembered where she was. In her fifteen years, this was her first sleepover. When her parents were still alive, they never permitted her to have friends spend the night, nor did they allow her to attend sleepovers at friend's houses. After their deaths, she changed schools, and, due to the trauma over losing her parents, kept to herself, the only friend she made at her new school was Hannah, her foster sister, who lived in the same house as her. While Hannah occasionally had friends over, Lita, for reasons known only to her, chose not to participate. "That's good," Lita thought to herself, "you're getting out, making friends." She looked around, as Kim wasn't there. One thing she noticed was a black Fender Stratocaster guitar hanging next to the closet. The guitar had a sticker on it of the logo for the Pittsburgh Penguins, with a hand-drawn heart with the number 87 inside it. It was then she noticed the shower running in the bathroom. A minute later, she heard the water being turned off.

"Go ahead and turn the radio on if you want to," Kim said, peeking out from behind the bathroom door. "My dad's already at work, and my mom's making breakfast." Lita turned the radio on, and a few minutes later, Kim came out of the bathroom, wearing an oversized long-sleeved hooded t-shirt with a Pittsburgh Penguins logo on the front, Capri length skinny jeans, and flip-flops. "If you want to take a quick shower, go ahead," Kim said.

Lita took a quick shower, and came out wearing a white dress with black polka dots, black knee length tights, and black ballet flats. "You like hockey?" Lita asked.

"Yeah," Kim said. "How'd you know?"

"Your guitar," Lita said. "I noticed the sticker on it. I figured you either like hockey, or you have a crush on Sidney Crosby."

"Both, actually," Kim said. "I'm not really into what some idiot in some office decides that I should like just because I'm a teenage girl. I just don't get the whole concept of dressing like everyone else, listening to the same music everyone else listens to, and calling it 'expressing my individuality'. To me, that's just following the herd, and I'm no sheep. Just look at what I have in my iPod, I'd be willing to bet money that most of what I have on there, the average 'first in line to see the new Twilight, gotta see what Snooki's up to on Jersey Shore, my favorite band's whatever's topping the charts right now' mindless drone's never heard of."

"Most of what I've heard you play is stuff I've never heard of," Lita said. "Mostly what I listen to is what my foster sister likes."

"What does she listen to?" Kim asked.

"Mostly whatever's on the charts," Lita said. "She really likes Katy Perry and Lady GaGa. To tell you the truth, I can't stand either one."

Kim made a gagging noise at the mention of Lady GaGa. "Tell you what I'm going to do," she said. "You have a CD player with headphones at home?"

"I have a CD player," Lita said, "but not headphones."

"I'll give you a pair of headphones," Kim said. "I've had them for a while, but they're practically new. After breakfast, I'm going to burn you some CD's to listen to at home. We have some time to kill before Amanda gets here."

"Where is Amanda?" Lita asked.

"She's going out to breakfast with her grandmother this morning," Kim said. "Jake's mom."

"Wouldn't she be your grandmother, too?" Lita asked. "Since you and Amanda are cousins?"

"Actually," Kim said, "Jake's been my mom's stepbrother since they were in high school."

"Did either of them have any problem with it?" Lita asked. "You know, like fighting with each other, sibling rivalry, stuff like that?"

"No," Kim said. "They've always gotten along."

_Jake and Rae's house_

"Good morning," Blythe Harrison said, as she came in the door.

"Good morning, grandma," Amanda said, giving Blythe a hug. "Mom and dad will be down in a moment."

"Hi mom," Jake said, as he gave Blythe a kiss on the cheek.

"Everybody ready?" Rae asked.

"Let's go," Jake said.

"Jake, is everything okay?" Blythe asked, as they got to the car.

"I'll tell you when we get to the restaurant," Jake said.

_20 minutes later, Arthur's Coffee Shop, La Habra, CA_

"Is anything the matter?" Blythe asked.

"I've been having these dreams the last couple weeks," Jake said.

"What dreams are these?" Blythe asked.

"About Paul," Jake said. "I've been hearing these voices that keep telling me that he's alive. I have this urge to look for him, but the voices tell me that I shouldn't look for him, he'll come to me. The voices also tell me that once he finds me, we'll never be apart again. Last night, I heard a new voice. One that sounded like mine, but wasn't me. It told me to ask her about the scar, and I could see your face clear as day. It was one of those dreams that seem too real to be a dream."

"Listen closely," Blythe said. "I'm about to tell you something that your father and I agreed to never tell you. I'm going to tell you how you got that scar on your chest."

"You and dad always told me that the scar came from a lifesaving operation I had when I was born," Jake said.

"That part's true," Blythe said. "Paul died at birth, which is why the doctors had to perform the surgery."

"What does Paul dying have to do with me needing surgery?" Jake asked.

"The surgery was to separate the two of you," Blythe said. "You and Paul were Siamese twins."

Jake reacted to his mother's last sentence the way one would normally react to being punched in the face by Mike Tyson. More precisely, how one would react during that split second between when Mike Tyson's fist made contact with their face and when they lose consciousness. "That explains everything," Jake said, his voice completely lacking emotion.

"What do you mean?" Blythe said.

"My whole life, I felt that there was a part of me missing," Jake said, "like I was incomplete."

"I thought I completed you," Rae said.

"I don't mean emotionally," Jake said. "I mean physically. My whole life, I felt that someone literally removed part of me. In a way, I now know that's true."

"I have a question," Amanda said. "What are Siamese twins?"

"It's when two people are born joined to one another," Rae said. "Like Gemini from the Gilded Rose cartoon. They're Siamese twins."

"I see," Amanda said. "But they never called them that on the show."

"When they made the show," Rae said, "the producers wouldn't let them be called Siamese twins, even though in real life, everyone called them that. The producers told us we had to call them conjoined twins, they thought that was more politically correct."

"But where did the name Siamese twins come from, anyways?" Amanda asked.

"Twin brothers named Chang and Eng," Blythe said. "They were born joined at the chest, and traveled the world, exhibiting themselves. Since they were born in what was then called Siam, they were billed as the Siamese twins, and eventually, the name became used to describe the condition of twins being born joined."

"It's all starting to make sense to me now," Jake said, as their waitress came to take their orders.

_Two hours later, Jake and Rae's house_

"I'll be next door at aunt Amy's," Amanda said. "I'll be home later."

"Something just dawned on me," Jake said, as Amanda left. "I'm beginning to think that Paul might be connected in some way with this Nehelenia character that I've been training the girls to fight."

"Who's Nehelenia?" Blythe asked.

"A 100,000 year old space pirate with two heads," Rae said.

"Who, I remind you, is coming tomorrow," Artemis said.

"Hello Artemis," Jake said, as the cat climbed on the table where Jake was sitting. "The team is ready, I can assure you of that."

"I hope they'll be enough," Artemis said.

"Me too," Jake said.

"Am I going crazy or something?" Blythe said. "I swear I just heard a cat talking to my son."

"You're perfectly sane," Rae said, going to the kitchen to get Artemis a saucer of milk. "Artemis does speak. How you doing?" she said, placing the saucer in front of him.

"Thank you," Artemis said, lapping up the milk.

"How's Luna?" Rae said. "I thought the two of you would be there a couple weeks ago when Jake first briefed the team."

"She's fine," Artemis said. "The reason we missed the briefing was Diana was feeling a little under the weather."

"Who's Diana?" Jake asked.

"I'm Diana," a small grey kitten said, climbing on the table next to Artemis. As she began to lap milk from the saucer on the table, Jake noticed the crescent moon on her forehead.

"When did you guys have a kitten?" Rae asked.

"About three months ago," Artemis said. "But that's not why I'm here. Luna and I have found additional intelligence about Nehelenia."

"And I gave the team the day off," Jake said.

"The intelligence we found isn't much," Artemis said. "Most of it has nothing to do with the battle."

"Bring it later tonight," Jake said. "And bring Rini with you."

_Nehelenia's spaceship_

"My Captain," G'riq said as he approached the bridge, "We are exactly one planetary rotation from the third planet in the Sol System."

"Very good," Nehelenia said. "Attention, all hands," she said, activating the all-ship address system, "We are exactly one planetary rotation from the planet known as Earth. All hands will begin preparing for our arrival immediately. That is an order."

"Yes, my Captain," G'riq said, snapping to attention, and giving a salute. "By your leave, my Captain."

"I shall retire to my private bath immediately," Nehelenia's left head said. "And you will be joining me," her right head added.

"Yes, my Captain," G'riq said, as they approached Nehelenia's private quarters and bathing chamber.

When they were in her chambers, Nehelenia locked the main door to her private quarters, as well as the main door to her bathing chamber, disabling the override circuits. "I don't know what it is," Nehelenia said, as she and G'riq removed their uniforms and entered the bath, "but when you share my bath, and my bed, I have a strange feeling."

"What feeling is this?" G'riq asked.

"I get this, I'm not sure, physical sensation, whenever I feel your touch," Nehelenia said. "I don't know what it is, but I know I like it. I have been traveling the universe for over a hundred millennia, and have shared my bed with millions of men, but of all the men I have been with, I have only had these feelings with you."

_Chris and Rae Forney's house, later that afternoon_

Kim and Amanda had spent the afternoon teaching Lita some of their routines, which was easy, seeing as Lita was a fast learner, as well as the fact that the routines were pretty basic. After a couple hours, the girls decided to work on an original song Kim wrote, and, since they didn't have a routine for it yet, decided to make one for it.

_Jake and Rae's house, that evening_

A few minutes after Artemis and Diana left, Jake's mom left, and when she left, he went to his den/home office, where he set up his laptop. As he turned it on, Rini and Artemis arrived, and as Rini pulled a chair up to the desk, Artemis climbed on the cabinet next to Jake. "I have the intelligence you asked for," Artemis said.

"And I'm wondering why you asked Artemis to bring me," Rini said.

"Because I want the leader of the team to see this," Jake said.

"You're making me team leader?" Rini said. "Why?"

"Because you're the only one who actually has experience as a Sailor Soldier," Jake said. "Remember when you were younger, and I sent you back in time?"

"A little bit," Rini said. "I was only six at the time, remember."

"Anyways," Jake said, "I want someone with practical experience to lead the team."

"What about Dennis?" Rini asked. "I thought Gilded Rose was the team leader."

"I've been training him for a year now," Jake said, "but he's never actually been in the field before. You have. Things are different than when I was your age. When your mom, Rae, and I first formed the Sailor Soldiers team, we were all new. I only became team leader, it was because I took the initiative and assumed the leadership role."

"So what intelligence do you have for me to look at?" Rini said.

"Let me check," Jake said, taking the SD card from Artemis' collar and inserting it in the proper slot on his laptop. He saw an icon pop up on his desktop, and clicked it, and a screen came up with a grid of icons on it. He clicked one of the icons, and looked at what showed up on the screen. "Doesn't look like much," he said, "but it does look like some important information. Looks like it tells how many crew members she has, and weaponry. It also says she arrives tomorrow at Noon, at Hillcrest Park. Wait a second, this looks interesting."

"What looks interesting?" Rini asked.

"It says here one of her crewmembers was born on Earth," Jake said. _I wonder if that's what happened to Paul,_ Jake thought to himself. Jake and Rini looked at the data for a few more minutes.

"Looks like I got everything," Rini said, as Jake took the SD card out of his computer, and placed it back in its place on Artemis' collar.

"Go rest up for tomorrow," Jake said. "You're going to need it. "Meet me at Hillcrest Park tomorrow morning at 11. I'm about to let Amanda know, right now, she's next door with Kim and Lita. Think you can let Debbie and Dennis know for me? And get a good night's sleep tonight, you're going to need it."

"Sure," Rini said, as she and Artemis left.

_Hillcrest Park, 10:45 the next morning_

"This place brings back memories," Elizabeth Toste said, as she sat down on a park bench.

"Yeah," Serena Campbell said, sitting next to Elizabeth. "This is where you and Jerry were. . . "

"Technically, only Jerry was killed here," Elizabeth said. "Remember, we're the only ones who remember my death. And don't forget, this is where Amy got killed."

"I ended up getting killed in my own driveway," Jake said, sitting between Elizabeth and Serena. "hopefully, the only person I hope gets killed today is Nehelenia. I miss having superpowers. Know where I'd be right now if I still had powers?"

"Where?" Elizabeth asked.

"Getting ready to lead the girls into battle," Jake said, "instead of watching from the sidelines. Anyways, I'm going to get a closer view of the action."

In another part of the park, Rini was briefing the rest of the team, who had just shown up. "Nehelenia should be arriving around noon," she said, taking out her transformation brooch and opening it. "I'm thinking that we should transform before she gets here, so we'll be ready for her," she said, touching the crystal inside. "Pretty Moon Soldier, Make-up!"

"Right," Kim said, getting out her transformation wand. "Pretty Mercury Soldier, Make-up!"

"Pretty Mars Soldier, Make-up!"

"Pretty Venus Soldier, Make-up"

"Pretty Jupiter Soldier, Make-up!"

Dennis threw a gold rose down at his feet. "Transform!"

As the teens transformed, a large spaceship with a gold, mirror-like surface arrived in the sky over where the team was. A beam of red light emerged from the bottom of the ship, and when it disappeared, Nehelenia was standing there. "I see someone's left a welcoming committee for me," Nehelenia said. "Who may I ask are you?"

"I stand for truth," Sailor Moon said, "I stand for justice, and I stand for love. I am Sailor Moon, and in the name of the Moon, my friends and I shall defeat you!"

"I think not," Nehelenia said. "I believe that it will be I who destroys you, then this puny world."

"We're not going down without a fight," Sailor Mercury said. "Because we are the Sailor Soldiers."

"And we stand with Sailor Moon," Sailor Venus said. "We stand for truth, justice, and love."

"And we shall triumph over evil," Sailor Jupiter said. "For we fight for all that is good and just."

"We carry on the legacy of our mothers who fought evil before us," Sailor Mars said. "As one day, our daughters will carry on our legacy."

"And I am Gilded Rose," Gilded Rose said. "And it is my honor, my pleasure, no, my privilege to fight alongside the Sailor Soldiers."

"Good," Nehelenia said. "Now I know what to carve on your tombstones."

"Way I see it," Jake said, "the only name I see being carved on a tombstone today is Nehelenia."

"You," Nehelenia's left head said. "Come here," her right head added, as her left hand began to glow with white energy. Jake found himself floating in midair toward Nehelenia, who clutched him by the throat with her left hand. "You talk brave," her left head said, "for someone without powers," her right head added.

"Go to Hell," Jake said.

"No," Nehelenia's left head said. "You first," her right head added, as her hand began to glow brighter, as Jake began to resemble someone going through the transporter effect from _Star Trek. _The last thing Jake did was to scream in agony as he disappeared.

"What did you do to my father?" Sailor Mars asked, with a mixture of grief and rage in her voice.

"I atomized him," Nehelenia said.

"What is that?" Sailor Venus asked.

"I scattered his atoms," Nehelenia's left head said. "To the far corners of the Universe," her right head added.

"Sparkling Wide Pressure!" Sailor Jupiter said, and hurled a ball of lightning at Nehelenia, who, although she managed to block it, was knocked back slightly by it.

"You'll pay for that," Nehelenia said, as she fired a bolt of energy at Sailor Jupiter, who ducked out of its way. "You won't duck out of the way of this," she said, quickly firing a bolt of energy at Sailor Mercury.

"Mercury Ice Shield!" Sailor Mercury said, crossing her arms in front of her face, with a speed nobody even imagined she was capable of. A paper-thin shield of ice formed in front of Sailor Mercury, which as thin as it was, was more than capable of deflecting the energy blast, which was powerful enough to stop a speeding locomotive in its tracks.

"What do you say we combine our powers for this one?" Sailor Mars asked.

"Sounds like a good idea," Sailor Mercury said.

Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury held hands. "Fire and Ice!" they yelled in unison. A barrage of flaming icicles flew at Nehelenia, who was unable to avoid all of them.

"Venus Crescent Beam!" Sailor Venus yelled, and clasped her hands, extending her index fingers. She kissed the tips of her fingers, and pointed them at Nehelenia, and fired a crescent shaped beam of energy at Nehelenia, which, when combined with the Fire and Ice attack, slightly staggered Nehelenia.

"Moon Tiara Boomerang," Sailor Moon said, removing her tiara and throwing it at Nehelenia, which knocked her to the ground.

"Sailor Mars, take a knee!" Gilded Rose said, as Nehelenia got up. Getting a running start, he vaulted off of Sailor Mars's shoulders. "Gold Rush!" he yelled, flying through the air, twisting in midair, landing a kick to Nehelenia, at the point where both her necks met on her shoulders. As she went down, he landed, bounced off a tree, and made a tumbling run back to where his teammates were.

After a minute, Nehelenia got up unsteadily, and showed signs of being uncoordinated, as if each side of her body was unaware of what the other side was doing. Sailor Mercury noticed this, and pressed her right earring, which caused a blue visor, resembling an expensive pair of sports sunglasses, to emerge from her tiara. She looked at Nehelenia, and analyzed the data the visor was telling her. "Way to go, Gilded Rose," she said. "It looks like you found her weak spot. Each of her heads only controls one half of her body, but right where her two necks meet at the shoulders, she has a small rudimentary brain which helps coordinate them, even to the point where if one head were to become incapacitated, the other head can control her entire body. She should recover quickly, though."

"But knowing your enemy's weak spot is half the battle," Sailor Moon said, running towards Nehelenia. "Lunar kick!" she yelled, and launched into a flying kick, aiming at where Nehelenia's necks met.

By this time, Nehelenia had recovered, and realized at the last second what Sailor Moon intended. She blocked the kick, and was able to toss Sailor Moon to the ground. Sailor Moon got up quickly, and materialized her scepter in her hand. "Lunar Crystal Sword!" she yelled, and her scepter became a sword, with a crescent shaped hilt, and a blade of diamond-hard crystal, stronger than the strongest steel.

"It's like this, is it?" Nehelenia said, materializing a sword of black steel from thin air, and she and Sailor Moon engaged in combat. Although being at a disadvantage having never fought with swords outside of training, Sailor Moon was more than holding her own against her vastly more experienced opponent, although she was unable to gain an advantage. However, neither was Nehelenia. "Your sword fighting skills impress me," she said.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Sailor Moon said, launching an attack that actually gave her a slight advantage.

"I was one of the greatest swordfighters in the Galaxy," Nehelenia's left head said, "when the ancestor of your ancestors' ancestors was suckling at his mother's teat," her right head added, as she launched an attack that turned the tide of battle her way, backing Sailor Moon up. Sailor Moon tripped over an exposed tree root, falling on her back. She fought from a prone position, until Nehelenia managed to disarm her. "You fought well, Sailor Moon," her left head said. "I shall remember this fight," her right head added, as she swung her sword down for the killing blow. An inch before her sword made contact with Sailor Moon's head, Nehelenia's sword was blasted out of her hand.

"I really ought to thank you," Jake Slater said, floating three feet above the ground, with his right hand in a fist, and glowing with white energy.

"How can you be alive?" Nehelenia asked. "I destroyed you."

"Correction," Jake said. "You destroyed my body, but not my consciousness. Somehow, when you atomized me, you reactivated my powers. I've been busy reconstructing my body, atom by atom," he began shooting blasts of energy from his hands at Nehelenia. "Sailor Soldiers," he said, "get into position."

As Sailor Moon got up and retrieved her scepter, she and the other four Sailor Soldiers got into a V formation, Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars in the rear, with Sailor Venus's hands on Sailor Jupiter's shoulders and Sailor Mars's hands on Sailor Mercury's shoulders, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mercury in the middle, with their hands on Sailor Moon's shoulders, and Sailor Moon in front, with her scepter pointed in the air. "Twilight Moon, Elimination!" she said, pointing her scepter at Nehelenia. A golf ball sized sphere of pure glowing white energy formed at the tip of her scepter, and as it grew, it flew towards Nehelenia, until it was the size of a soccer ball. The sphere of energy hit Nehelenia, and harmlessly passed through her.

"Is there something wrong?" Sailor Mars asked. "Nehelenia should be destroyed."

"There's nothing wrong," Sailor Moon said. "Moon Twilight Elimination will only destroy those who are completely evil."

"She is evil," Sailor Mars said. "She destroyed my dad without a second thought."

"But she is not completely evil," Sailor Moon said. "There is some good in her. I sense there is love in her heart. One who is completely evil is incapable of love."

"That's what that feeling is called," Nehelenia said. "Love."

"What feeling is that?" Jake asked.

"I can't really explain it," Nehelenia said. "It's a feeling I have for one of my crewmembers. I have allowed him to share the pleasures of my bed as a reward for his faithful service, but whenever I feel his touch, I get this unfamiliar feeling. It's a very pleasant feeling, very warm. It makes me want nothing more than to be with him. When I'm not with him, I want to be with him, to feel his touch, to hear his heartbeat, his breathing. I would give everything in the Cosmos to be with him. I would walk through the deepest pits of Hell for him."

"Does this crewmember have a name?" Sailor Moon asked.

"G'riq," Nehelenia said.

"Have you told him how you feel?" Sailor Moon asked.

"I told him that the way he made me feel was pleasant," Nehelenia said. "and that I enjoyed being with him, but was unaware why."

"You never told him you love him," Sailor Moon said.

"Until now," Nehelenia said, "I had never heard the word love."

"That doesn't mean you can't tell him now," Sailor Moon said.

"G'riq," Nehelenia said, activating her communicator, "report to me at once."

"G'riq reporting as ordered, my Captain," G'riq said.

"G'riq," Nehelenia said, "from this day forward, I order you to call me Nehelenia."

"Yes, Nehelenia," G'riq said. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes," Nehelenia said. "G'riq, I love you."

When Nehelenia said those words, she was enveloped in a white light, and when it disappeared, her uniform was replaced with a white off the shoulder dress with a knee length skirt, and white sandals. Her hair color also changed from its normal dark blonde to platinum blonde. She then wrapped her arms around G'riq, who responded by wrapping his arms around Nehelenia. "And I love you, Nehelenia," he said.

"I feel different," Nehelenia said.

"That's because you are different," Sailor Moon said. "Even though my last attack didn't destroy you, it did affect you. When you told G'riq you loved him, you were purged of evil."

"There is something I must do," Nehelenia said. "But I cannot do it alone. Jake, Come here, I need your help."

"What do you want me to do," Jake asked.

"On my mark," Nehelenia said, "I want you to hit my ship with everything you got."

"With pleasure," Jake said.

Jake and Nehelenia both took aim at Nehelenia's ship. "Now!" she said, and both she and Jake fired blasts of energy at her ship, destroying it completely. "Now that's done," she said, this battle is over."

"Power down, everybody," Jake said, returning to his normal self.

"Transform," Gilded Rose said, throwing a gold rose down at his feet, surrounding himself and the Sailor Soldiers with a gold mist, which changed them back to their civilian identities.

"I think I'm going to like this planet," Nehelenia said. "I think G'riq and I are going to stay here."

"There is something familiar about this planet," G'riq said. "As well as something familiar with the one called Jake."

"There should be something familiar about this planet," Nehelenia said. "You were born here. As for why Jake is familiar, some of your questions will be answered if you remove your mask.

G'riq removed the mask that had covered the top half of his face for the last quarter century, and looked at Jake. "It's like I'm looking in a mirror," Jake said. "I see my own face staring at me."

"How can he have my face?" G'riq asked.

"Because Jake is a part of you," Nehelenia said.

"How can I be a part of him?" Jake asked.

"When the two of you were born," Nehelenia said, "your bodies were joined at the chest by a band of flesh. The slavers who sold G'riq to me had posed as physicians at the medical facility where the two of you were born. As soon as the two of you were born, the slavers surgically separated the two of you, and took one of you to be raised as a slave. They told your parents that the one they took had died at birth, and they had to separate the two of you in order to save the other twin's life."

"Paul," Jake said. "His name is Paul. Not G'riq."

"I like that name," Nehelenia said. "That will be your name now, seeing as I free you from slavery."

"I will stay with you forever," Paul said, "not because I am obligated to, but because I want to."

At that moment, Serena, Elizabeth, Rae, and Amy arrived from another area of the park. "What happened?" Serena asked. "Did you destroy Nehelenia?"

"No," Rini said.

"They did something better," Nehelenia's left head said. "They turned me from evil," her right head added.

"Where's your father?" Rae asked Amanda. "I thought I heard him scream back there."

"I'm here," Jake said.

"What exactly happened?" Rae asked. "I thought I heard you scream in pain when the battle began."

"I was screaming," Jake said. "Nehelenia ripped me apart at the atomic level. I'll tell you what, though, it hurt like someone ripped open every cell in my body, and poured carbolic acid on the wounds. The good news is that getting my atoms scattered to the far corners of the Cosmos somehow jumpstarted my powers. The good news is that I finally found out what happened to Paul"

"What happened to him?" Rae asked.

"When Jake and I were born," Paul said, "we were separated surgically, and I was kidnapped and taken into space, where I eventually came into the service of Nehelenia."

"If the two of you desire," Nehelenia said, "I can easily restore the bond between you."

Jake and Paul began whispering to each other. "My brother and I were talking," Jake said. "For now, we say thanks, but no thanks. We've both became used to the idea of being completely separate from each other."

"For now, at least," Paul added. "But that's not to say that we may not want to take you up on your offer sometime in the future."

"But only temporarily," Jake added.

_An isolated fortress somewhere high in the Himalayas_

A dozen black robed figures sat at a heavy oak table, watching the battle on a large crystal ball. "This new team of guardians is an interesting development," one of the figures said.

"We will have to change our plans accordingly," another of the figures said. "Let us meditate on this. . . . "

**WHO ARE THE MYSTERIOUS ORGANIZATION OBSERVING THE BATTLE, AND WHAT EXACTLY ARE THEY PLANNING? THOSE QUESTIONS, AND OTHERS WILL BE ANSWERED IN FUTURE CHAPTERS.**


End file.
